Nowhere Else to Turn
by xMidnight Muse
Summary: Everybody in her life is gone, and Hermione is being hunted by death eaters. As she runs for her life, she realizes that there is only one place to go, a place she never thought she would turn. DMHG Read and Review!
1. It's This, or Death

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters, I only own the plot of this story**

**Full Summary: Everybody in her life is gone, and Hermione is being hunted by death eaters. As she runs for her life, she realizes that there is only one place to go, a place she never thought she would turn**

**Rated T for slightly graphical rape and language**

Hermione ran through the rain, hugging her cloak tightly against her. She hated herself for what she was doing, but she really had no choice.

Everyone in her life was gone, and this was the only place left to turn.

Harry and Ron had been in St Mungo's for the past 2 months, stuck in comas from their battle with Voldemort, Ginny and the other Weaslys were dead, along with Luna, Neville and Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan was missing, god knows where Order was and her family had been killed by Death Eaters.

There were few people on the side of good left, and they were all being hunted, tortured and killed.

But because of Hermione's accociations with "the boy who lived" aka the Dark Lord's worst enemy, she was public enemy number 1.

And they had found her, hardly 20 minutes ago.

_Hermione had been sitting in her flat, reading a book after visiting Ron and Harry in the hospital. She could tell that there was a storm picking up because of the howling winds and reaccuring thunder._

_As she began to feel her eyes droop, her door thrust open revealing 4 looming shadows, death eaters. _

_Before she knew what has happening, Hermione was twisting on the floor screaming in pain. _

"_We've been trying to get our hands on you for quite some time now you little witch" one of the hooded figures hissed in her ear as she panted for breath after being released of her pain, momentarily._

_Hermione had hardly been able to guess what was in store next. She was shoved on the floor by a large body, pinning her there as his hands explored her body and his lips smashed violently against hers. _

_The man ripped off her shirt and bra as his lips dived onto her chest allowing her to scream her lungs out, which the death eater was obviously enjoying._

_She had always told herself that she would keep her cool whenever the death eaters came, but she couldn't do it. _

_Her jeans came off next, closely followed by her last article of clothing and he began to violently abuse her._

_Each of the death eaters took their turn and continued biting her, kissing her and washing their tounges and lips across her as she screamed out for help that she knew would never come_

_Finally the last one was finished with her and they loomed above her as she knew what was coming next. Hermione was able to gain her composure as she did her best to return her tattered clothing to her beaten and bruised body._

_Just as they began to raise their wands to strike, Hermione reached into her back pocket relieved to find her wand as she wheezed a spell that flashed a white light across the dark room, blinding her attackers._

_She took her opportunity to grab her cloak from the coat hook next to the door and bolt out of there like a flash of lightning._

_Hermione ran, not knowing where she was going, not knowing where she could go until and idea hit her, which she knew she would regret later, but what choice did she have? The death eaters would come back after her, she was sure of that._

As she reached her destination, she breathed deeply as she walked towards the door. She had no time to think about what she was about to do, she was tired, and crucially wounded, it was this, or death.

Hermione reached her hand to the door and knocked a timid fist against it, as loud as she could.

It swung open to reviel a very agitated face,

"Granger? What the bloody hell are you doing here?"


	2. Pity For a Mudblood

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter, or its characters (but I'm working on it with Jo's lawyers ;) ). Once again, just the plot of this is mine.**

"Granger? What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

Draco Malfoy was staring into the face of Hermione Granger, the last person he ever expected to see knocking at his door.

He was extremely angry about being interrupted from his nightly routines, and by this mudblood no less. But that all went away for a moment as her small voice spoke out,

"Draco…please, help me" she muttered softly before passing out from tiredness and physical abuse.

He caught her, surprised, before she hit the floor.

Things didn't get much more confusing than this. Here he was, Draco Malfoy, Slytherin pride, apparently being sought out for help from Hermione Granger, the brains of Gryffindor. And, she had called him Draco.

He stood there, confused as hell, with this girl that he hated in his arms when he realized how battered she was. Her cloak opened slightly revealing clothing that was near to shreds, and as he looked her over, Draco also noticed several bruises forming and what looked to him like bite marks,

_What in the world has she gotten herself in to?_

He groaned as he picked her up, he certainly couldn't just leave her out in the cold, no matter how much he disliked her. Sadly, he had a heart (or at least part of one) and he hated seeing a woman so beat.

Draco carried her like a fragile doll to one of the guest bedrooms. His father was dead, and his mum was in Azkaban, so it wasn't as if he had to worry about either of them finding out that he was momentarily hosting a mudblood.

He laid Hermione on the lavish four poster bed and gently covered her with the gold colored quilt. Draco lingered for a moment as he ran his fingers through platinum hair.

For some reason, seeing her like this made him forget of the many years of torture he put her and her friends through. It made him forget about his vow to hate mudbloods like her, forget the nasty comments and emotional pain he had caused all of them

For once in his life, Draco Malfoy was feeling pity for a mudblood.

He sighed and walked out of the room not quite sure what was going to come next. But for now, all he could do was wait for her to wake up, then he'd figure out what was going on.

**I know that that was a **_**very **_**short chapter, but I promise that I'll have a longer one, probably up today. I just wanted to devote a chapter to Malfoy and how he was feeling.**


	3. Are You Admitting to Having a Heart?

**Disclaimer: Still working with the lawyers, I think I'm getting somewhere, but for now, only the plot of this story belongs to me. Everything else belongs to Miss JK Rowling (for now…mwahahahahahahaha!!!)**

Hermione woke what seemed like hours later. The sun was up and shone through the windows, accentuating the gold of the room, and making it shimmer. She observed the room, completely uncertain of where she was. Her memory was fuzzy, and all she knew at the moment was that she was as sore as hell.

"Look who's finally up" Hermione's head snapped over to the door frame where Malofy was standing, looking smug as ever.

"Malfoy? What the hell are you doing here?" she screeched at him. She looked around the room again as her memory slowly filled.

"Forgotten already Granger? You were the one who came knocking at my door then passed out last night. If anyone should be asking questions, it should be me" he said taking a few steps closer towards the bed.

Hermione looked herself over, "oh my god!" she gasped as she remembered the nights events.

"Draco, please, they'll come after me, just like they came after me last night. Might as well call me public enemy number one. Now that they can't get to Harry and Ron they want me, and please, you can't let them." She said frantically, her breathing becoming sharp and heavy. Last night had been bad enough, and she'd be damned if she was ready to go through that again, or worse.

Draco recoiled slightly; again she was using his first name after years of 'Malfoy' and 'Ferret'. But the feeling passed,

"Granger, listen, I don't know what the hell you're talking about, so why don't you come down, we'll get some food in you and you can tell me what you're rambling on about" he told her with a sigh.

"Oh and there are some clothes in the wardrobe you can wear instead of those pathetic things" he added, pointing to the large wardrobe in the other side of the room.

Hermione nodded and waited for him to leave. She took her time picking herself out of the bed, being careful not to bump her bruises against anything as she walked over to the mirror next to the wardrobe. She observed herself and all of her body, she was a mess.

She rummaged through the clothes as thoughts flooded through her mind,

_Why is he being so nice? Sure he's not being Prince Charming or anything, but he surely isn't being his usual ferret faced self. I doubt that 5 years of serving the dark lord has softened him up…but then again, maybe there's more to him then Harry, Ron or I ever expected._

She sighed and pulled on a pair of muggle jeans and a t-shirt and left the room. She followed the noise of clanking glasses and found Malfoy in the kitchen. Hermione sat herself at a chair at the table and observed him as he worked. 

He seemed so…so normal. For some reason this man reminded Hermione nothing of the arrogant boy who tormented her and her friends for 7 years while they were at school. He reminded her nothing of the hate that she used to hold against Slytherins, instead she saw a platinum haired, silvered eyed man who actually seemed to care at least a little bit about what had happened to her. And, she kind of liked that.

"Granger, if you are quite done staring at me, I wouldn't mind asking you a few questions" Draco said, smirking slightly. He turned towards his guest and handed her a bowl of soup and a sandwich, and placed a similar meal in front of his spot across from her as well.

"So, first off, what happened to you?" he asked, taking his seat.

Hermione stayed silent before looking down at the table and sighing deeply,

"They came for me. I knew they would, what with me being Harry's friend and all. But, I wasn't ready, I wasn't expecting them at that moment, and they just…they just burst in and started attacking me" she explained quietly,

"Death eaters?" Draco asked, needing clarification of who 'they' were. She simply nodded timidly.

Draco groaned. The dark lord would totally bust his ass if he found out that he was hosting a target, and protecting her no less.

_Erin: Don't look at me like that; of course Draco's going to protect her. Or else this wouldn't be a DMHG fan fiction now would it?_

"So, now can you explain to me that out of every person on the face of this earth, you decided to come knocking at my door in your time of need. I mean, I would think for sure that you'd run to Scar head or Weasel Boy" Draco asked, becoming more interested with the story.

"That's just it, you can bet your ass that I wouldn't be coming to you unless I absolutely had to." Hermione began to fiddle with her soup, dipping her spoon into it, then pouring it off of the spoon and back into the bowl.

"Harry and Ron are in comas, they have been every since they fought with Voldemort. It would be me and Harry, if Ron hadn't decided to jump in front of Bellatrix's spell" she added, smiling softly at the memory of her friends. But her face returned to a deep frown as she continued,

"Ron's family was killed as well, being blood traitors and all. Then for the rest of the Gryffindor students, their either dead, missing, or in hiding. And sadly, the only person I could think of was you." Hermione said, she added in a weak laugh for reasons unknown.

"But wait," she said, stopping him from beginning to talk and looking up at him, "why am I telling you all of this? Being Voldemort's servant, I would expect you to know all of this already" she asked, becoming slightly suspicious.

Draco knew that was coming. He sighed and placed his spoon down on his plate.

"The thing is, he's been a little, reluctant to say the least, to share with me information of that proportion. Ever since I couldn't kill Dumbledore, he's wondered where my loyalties lie, and well, I guess I could have read the Daily Prophet to find all that out, but then again, I'm not exactly eager for people to find out where I am" he explained to her.

He was amazed how intent she looked in hearing what he had to say. Her chocolate brown eyes were wide with interest, and had a certain look that just thirsted to learn more in them. He laughed slightly,

_Same old Hermione_ he thought to himself.

"Now if you don't mind, I'd like to ask some questions myself" Hermione said to him. Draco thought for a moment, and thought it was only fair, she had answered his questions, now he had to answer hers.

"Why?" was all she asked him. He leaned back in his chair as she leaned forwards, placing her arms on the table, and her chin in her hands.

"Why what?"

"Well, you hate me right?" she didn't give him a chance to answer, it would have been too easy.

"Why did you take me in? You could have easily just left me out there. But you didn't." she asked, tilting her head to the sighed.

Draco shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I just saw you hurt, and thought on my instincts." He said, not quite sure that that was the truth. To his surprise, Hermione sneered slightly, a look that he had never seen on her, but had to admit it flattered her features.

"Mister Malfoy, are you admitting that you actually have a heart?" she asked him smugly. He leaned in closer to her,

"I don't know, you tell me"

**Tada! I told you I'd have another up today. The ideas are just flowing through my head, so I'll probably be updating often, at least I hope so! Tell me what you think, and if you want to see something in it, I could do my best to put it in, but only if you leave a review 3 -Erin**


	4. Note To Self, Never Run To Worst Enemy

**Disclaimer: ….Yeah things haven't really changed since I last updated, so I think you've got the drill by now. I don't own Harry Potter or its characters, only the plot is mine**

**And thanks sooooo much to all of my reviewers, you have no idea how much your reviews help to get me motivated to write more!!**

"Mister Malfoy, are you admitting that you actually have a heart?" Hermione asked him smugly. Draco leaned in closer to her,

"I don't know, you tell me"

She simply smiled at him and tilted her head, "you are a very confusing person, do you know that?" she asked him, keeping their faces a few inches apart.

"Really?" Draco asked, intrigued by her assumption "And how is that so?"

"Well, for the past 12 years, I've lived my life hating you and everything that had to do with you. But here we are, a death eater and a Gryffindor, eating lunch together, and you know what? I'm not exactly disappointed about this situation. You see Draco, I'm seeing you in a whole new light now, and I'm kind of liking it" Hermione explained, letting in a certain twinkle in her eyes.

This statement surprised him slightly, because the fact was, he was feeling the same way about her. Draco had been raised to hate mudbloods, and to be like a Slytherin. But now he saw this girl who he had spent his years at school and beyond, tormenting, and he felt a twinge in his heart as he realized everything he'd done to her and her friends. Sure he didn't like Potter and Weasel, but Granger was different, he just couldn't put his finger on it. She was no longer the little bookworm from school that nobody liked, Hermione was now an intelligent, and quite stunning young lady.

_Stop it Draco, this is the enemy, what the _hell _are you doing? You know that the Dark Lord has orders for her head, and here you are having small talk with a target! Voldemort will beat your ass to a pulp if he finds out about this. You have got to get her out of here before he or any death eaters come, and you know they will. You've got a choice to make, your life, or hers._

There it was, that little nagging voice in his head that always reminded him where and who he was supposed to be serving. Draco knew it would come around at some point. He shook his head and looked up at her.

"Draco, please, you can't let them find me. I know you're one of them, but you're different, I can tell. If you care even the tiniest bit about me, you'll help me" Hermione said out of the blue, staring up at him with pleading eyes.

_Oh this is going to be hard._ Draco thought as he involuntarily raked his fingers through his hair as he thought for a moment.

"Don't worry, you're safe here, I promise"

_Whoa, where the hell did that come from? _They both thought to themselves.

"Um, I'm going to go take a shower if you don't mind." Hermione announced after a moment of brief and awkward silence.

"By all means" Draco answered her. "There's a bathroom connected to the guest room you were staying in" he informed her, thankful that he'd have the opportunity to drown in his own thoughts for awhile, ugh who was he kidding? She was a girl, she'd be in there forever.

Hermione snaked back to her room, doing her best to find her way back to the room. She made a few wrong turns, but was finally able to get back into the lavish gold room.

She locked both the door to her room and the door to the bathroom, call her a safety freak, but she still didn't fully trust anyone at the moment.

After a few moments she stepped into the warm water and let her thoughts consumer her. And as she thought, she realized that she had no idea why she was now begging Draco Malfoy, the ferret boy for help.

God, she missed Ron and Harry so much. If only they could be there right now to help her, they'd know exactly what to say. Actually, Ron would be doing something totally unnecessary and Harry would be giving her advice.

Draco Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. For some reason, the name kept ringing in her head and she couldn't figure out if it was a good thing or not. She was so confused about this situation. She didn't feel safe here with a death eater (who would be?) but she didn't exactly feel in danger either.

But there was this part of her that saw through the dark mark on his arm, and typical smirk on his face, and saw this young man, who was actually scared, and actually cared about other people around him, people that he was supposed to be after.

But what if he was lying to her? What if he was planning to actually send Voldemort after her? What if he hated her as much as he always had? What if, what if, what if?

Hermione's mind was racing. There were so many things that could go wrong with this situation, and so many things that could go right.

_Note to self, never run to your worst enemy, even if you are about to die. You'll only end up confusing yourself more. _Hermione thought to herself.

Well, it was too late to turn back now. Here she was, in his house, in his shower, after eating lunch with him in his kitchen, after sleeping in a bed in one of his guest rooms, and after asking him not to turn him into his master.

She finished her shower quickly without another ripping thought of this horribly sticky situation she had gotten herself into.

Hermione stepped back into her clothes and fixed herself up before walking back down towards the kitchen.

_Here goes everything_ she thought with a sigh.

**And there is my Hermione chapter. Things are going to get interesting soon, so keep the reviews coming and you won't be disappointed!!! -Erin**


	5. A Girl's Gotta Do What a Girl's Gotta Do

**Disclaimer: I think you should have figured this out by now, but for all you slower folk, Harry Potter and its characters don't belong to me**

**A/N: I love all of my reviewers! Thanks a trillion!!! This story is really moving. I've got some big ideas in mind, I just have to wait for the right time to bring them in!**

_Here goes everything, _she thought with a sigh.

As she walked towards the kitchen, Hermione heard more than just one voice, and both that were talking, sounded quite aggravated.

"Malfoy, listen, we couldn't do it, and now he wants you to!" one of the voices yelled.

"Zabini, are you trying to tell me that you found her, tortured her, and then you lost her?! And now you want _me _to compensate for _your _mistakes by taking out the little rat myself?!" This voice was obviously Draco. It made chills run up her spine as Hermione thought about how much he sounded so much like one of them, like a follower of Voldemort. So angry, and just so dead. But then again, he was one, which would explain that perfectly.

"This was his idea, not mine. He says you've got 7 days to get the job done, or I think you know what's going to happen" The other voice, who Hermione had identified as Blaise Zabini, growled before there was a soft _pop_ and Draco's voice reached out to Hermione, sounding tired,

"Come on in" he sighed.

Hermione wrung her hands together as she rejoined him. She was tired of being the damsel in distress and didn't want to put him in any more danger, even if he was now assigned to kill her.

"I should go Draco. I wouldn't put it past Voldemort to find out about this, and well, I don't want anything to happen to you because of me. You've helped me, and now I should probably go find refuge with someone who isn't supposed to kill me" she said with a weak laugh.

Draco sighed,

"I can't let you do that Hermione. No matter where you go, they'll find you, your best chance is to stay here with me." He insisted. He hated to admit it to himself, but he had spent enough time with her seen her down, and it was just too late for him emotionally to turn her back out where she would most likely get killed.

"But you heard Blaise, you've got a week to off me, and if you don't you'll most likely get killed" she retorted. She hated to admit it to herself, but she had spent enough time with him and seen him down, and it was just too late for her emotionally to leave him out in the cold when he would most likely get killed.

"You always were the stubborn one of the golden trio" Draco said, flashing a typical smirk. She just gave a small laugh in reply,

"There's got to be some way that ends in neither of us being killed." Hermione said blankly, staring at the table. He sighed as he thought for a moment,

"Well…" Hermione's head popped up in a second, her eyes wide,

"Do you have an idea?" she asked him. He rubbed his neck as he spoke.

"Maybe, but it wouldn't exactly be easy to pull off. It would require you lying low, and somebody getting killed, not one of us" he added quickly. Hermione's look was enough, and he knew that so far, she was ok with the plan, even if it meant somebody dying for their sake, she figured that they could pick an enemy, someone that wouldn't be missed.

"I have some polyjuice potion stocked in my cupboard somewhere, we give it to someone with a few strands of your hair in it, kill them, show the body to Voldemort, and we're both off the hook, as long as he never finds out of course. But you're gong to have to stay out of sight for awhile, unless you want to change your appearance, but I personally don't really like that option" he added in subtly. Draco looked at Hermione and observed her while a thoughtful look overcame her features and she bit her lip worriedly. After a moment she nodded sharply.

"Ok, let's do it." She said with a deep breath. "But I get to pick who the victim is. I want to make sure we aren't hurting anyone's family by killing them for ourselves…do you by any chance still have any attachment to Pansy Parkinson?" she asked, smiling devilishly.

"Granger, I like the way you think. I never really liked that little skank, and she isn't a follower, so no one will notice. And she'll certainly come crawling as soon as I say I 'need her'" Draco said, his smirk twisting into a full blown sneer.

The very next day, Draco flooed Pansy as Hermione put the finishing touches on the potion by adding a few fresh ingredients, and stirring in a few strands of her own, curly brown hair. She poured it into a glass and put a spell on it that would make Pansy think that it was a fire whiskey, and drink the whole thing.

After she heard voices coming from the sitting room, Hermione placed the goblet, and another one for Draco, filled only with water to hold up appearances, on a silver tray and carried it into the room. As soon as she entered she saw Pansy's nose crinkle disapprovingly,

"What's that mudblood doing here?" she asked Draco in her high pitched and thoroughly annoying voice. Hermione smiled slightly as she saw something in his eyes flare at the word.

"I'm, uh, working for Mister Malfoy. Quite kind of him actually, being so nice to someone like me" she said humbly, letting her eyes drift from Draco, to the goblet on the right of the tray, signaling that it was the one he should take. She felt guilty about what she and Draco were doing, but hey, she'd changed, and it was the only way to get out of this little predicament they were in.

Hermione walked the tray to Draco, who gave a small nod as he took the cup she had signaled. She then turned the tray to Pansy, who simply sneered and snatched the remaining cup.

"So Drac-y…what is this big problem that you had to call me down here for?" she asked giving a sleezy smile. Draco practically gagged at the pet name, but forced a smile. He and Hermione watched her carefully as she practically downed the whisky in a single gulp.

The other two observed as her skin bubbled and she transformed slowly into a Hermione.

"Go quickly, you have an hour, and make sure she doesn't say anything stupid to ruin the plan. Do it now before I change my mind about this whole thing" Hermione hissed at Draco.

"Draco!? What the hell is going on?" Pansy shrieked as she observed herself in a nearby mirror. Draco simply gripped her upper arm and apparated away. Now all Hermione could hope was that things worked out.

"Very good Malfoy. Now kill her, but let's take a nice snapshot while you're doing it for the Daily Prophet, this will be a story they surely wouldn't want to miss." Draco did his job quickly, ignoring the shriek of Pansy. It was a terrifying sight; he almost hadn't been able to make himself do it, what with her looking exactly like Hermione.

"As a bonus, I will personally dispose of the body" Draco offered. Voldemort, under his hooded cloak, simply nodded.

He once again grabbed the arm of the body and apparated to an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Draco dropped her body into the ocean, and watched it flutter the bottom and out of sight, with a twinge of guilt. He shook the feeling away, and went back to Hermione.

"Is it done?" she asked him while biting her lip. Draco sighed and nodded. Out of pure relief, Hermione swung her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Oh, um I'm sorry" she said pulling away, her cheeks flushed.

"No need to apologize" he replied smiling at her, and pulling her back for another kiss.

Hermione still felt terrible about what they had done to Pansy.

_But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do._

For now, she was just relieved that there wouldn't be any more death eaters knocking at her door. And for now, she looked at Draco as someone who had helped her escape death, even though she was still slightly afraid of what he could do, and if he had really done that to help her, or himself.

But little did they know, 2 people were about to wake in their hospital beds, and they would find out news that would send them beating down Malfoy's door.

**I know, I know, Hermione seemed pretty out of character in this chapter. But you've gotta think about it, she was going to die after being hunted for so long, she was desperate, and it wasn't as if she actually cared about Pansy. So, don't worry there is still more to come! Keep the reviews coming!!! –Erin (HalfBloodPrincss221)**


	6. Explosive

**Disclaimer: Ok, um so I'm running out of witty things to say in this section, so I'm going to set it down plain and simple. Harry Potter is not mine and neither are its characters. I am also not a doctor, so my information about the hospital and revivals and such is most likely not accurate.**

**Alright, here's chapter six!**

Over at St. Mungo's, machines beeped and sung around the beds of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, who had been locked in comas for the past two months. Nurses paced around the room, constantly checking machines for progress in the two young men, as they had been informed to do ever since the ordeal had occurred.

"Mallory, is that supposed to be happening?" one of the trainee nurses asked as a machine began to beep faster than usual. Mallory glanced over at the machine as her eyes widened,

"Oh my god, they're waking up!" she practically shrieked.

Hoards of healers came into the room, ready to help Harry and Ron as soon as they woke up.

Harry came to first, letting out a soft groan as his eyes opened, and then recoiled from the bright lights.

"What the hell is going on? Where the hell am I?" he asked groggily, letting his eyes slowly adjust to new light,

"Um, hold on a moment Mr. Potter, we believe that your friend should be coming through in just a moment, and then I can explain to both of you" One of the head healers suggested, keeping a weary eye on him and Ron, who's eyes opened as well,

"Bloody hell" he moaned as his eyes shut quickly and a hand went up to cover them.

"Well sirs, you've been in comas. For about 2 months now" another healer broke to them gently.

"What?!" they both shouted in unison. Ron and Harry shared glances.

"Would you mind telling me the last things you remember, before waking up here?" the same healer asked. Harry rubbed the back of his neck,

"Um, I remember Volde- Sorry, you-know-who" he corrected himself as all the people in the room flinched at Voldemort's name.

"He laughed, and then there was this jet of light. I think it was a blue color. And from there, I remember absolutely nothing" Harry finished with a sigh. Ron's face was scrunched up,

"The last thing I remember is that bitch Bellatrix shooting some kind of purple spell at…" his eyes went wide.

"Hermione! Where is she? Is she ok?" he asked frantically, scanning the hospital room. Harry's eyes also searched for their bushy haired friend, who was no where in sight.

The healers and nurses exchanged nervous glances as the room fell uncomfortably silent. Finally, a brave young girl, maybe in her early twenties, stepped up to the bed and silently handed them a copy of the Daily Prophet. She stepped away quickly, not wanting to get caught in the explosion that would become Harry and Ron.

They both moved so that they could get a good look at the paper.

On the front page was the most disturbing sight they had ever seen. Hermione Granger was standing before Draco Malfoy in some dark place, and the two of them were before a hooded figure. In the picture Malfoy stuck out his wand and heartlessly, and mercilessly sent a jet of green light at Hermione, who, although you could not hear her, gave a shriek as she dropped to the ground, her eyes open in fear.

_**You-Know-Who Strikes Again**_

_A few nights ago, an anonymous submission was sent to_

_us here at the Daily Prophet. It included this abnormally disturbing_

_photo of a young witch, Hermione Granger, being murdered_

_by the alleged death eater (no longer alleged) Draco Malfoy_

_who is son to one of the original death eaters,_

_Lucious Malfoy. This event has reminded us all that this war is not over yet._

_(continued on page A3)_

"That slimy LITTLE BASTARD!" Harry roared, slamming the paper onto the ground. His eyes were stinging with tears. He and Ron had been out of it for 2 months, and they wake up to this, this _hell _where their best friend was dead. And at the hand of Draco Malfoy no less!

On the other hand, Ron had absolutely nothing to say. His mouth gaped open, staring at nothing, his expression was blank, and empty. All of the sudden he seemed to snap out of his daze, and he was explosive.

"I WILL KILL HIM! I WILL KILL HIM JUST LIKE HE KILLED HER! THAT BASTARD IS GOING TO PAY!" he yelled. He was unable to identify this emotion he was experiencing. It was anger, denial, despair, misery, and hatred all rolled up in to one, unbearable feeling.

Ron looked absolutely savage, ready to kill the next person that said the words Draco Malfoy. Harry had the same wild look in his eyes, they were burning like a bright green fire.

The healers in the room looked frantic as the two men grabbed their wands off of the bedside tables, pointed their wands at themselves, changing their outfits and then heading for the door.

"Please sirs, you've just woken up. We would like you to stay a little longer, just to make sure that your coma doesn't come back." One of the healers said, very nervously, wringing her hands.

Ron and Harry simply pushed themselves through the flood of people in the room, and stormed out of the room. Their faces twisted into scowls, their teeth clenched and their hands gripped tightly around their wands, just daring anybody to stop them.

They apparated without a word to each other to the front of Malfoy Manner, they both knew what the other was going to do. When they got there Harry busted down the door and the two men intruded in.

"Potter, Weasley? What the hell do you think you're doing breaking down my door!?" Malfoy yelled at them.

Ron practically sprinted at the blond haired boy and pinned him against the wall, his forearm pressed against his neck, just loose enough for Draco to be able to gasp some air.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU KILLED HER! YOU MURDERED HERMIONE!" he roared.

Harry joined Ron by pointing his wand at Draco's heart.

"Now how are _you _going to compensate for the fact that you KILLED OUR BEST FRIEND!!??" Harry yelled.

"I….didn't…." Draco tried to weeze out, but Ron's arm pressed tighter against his throat.

"Don't you try to talk your way out of this! We saw! The picture in the Daily Prophet shows all! You killed her! And you probably didn't feel anything when you did it. YOU COLD HEARTED BASTARD!" Ron yelled.

"….Please! She's….she's not…." Through all of the yelling none of them heard steps approaching them.

"Ron? Harry?"

**Sorry that that chapter took longer than some of the others. But anyway! It's finally up so all is good! Next chapter will probably be up sometime next week. Keep those reviews coming! –Erin (HalfBloodPrincess221)**


	7. I'm Going to Have to Side with Draco

**Sorry it's taken so long to update! School is piling on now that we're so close to summer (I know, ridiculous right?) but anyway, here we go, chapter 7! I promise that I won't leave this story hanging, so just stay with me!**

**Million thanks to my reviewers!!!!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP, or its characters yadda, yadda, yadda…**

--

"Don't you try to talk your way out of this! We saw! The picture in the Daily Prophet shows all! You killed her! And you probably didn't feel anything when you did it. YOU COLD HEARTED BASTARD!" Ron yelled.

"….Please! She's….she's not…." Through all of the yelling none of them heard steps approaching them.

"Ron? Harry?"

All three men's heads' shot towards the voice, each with a distinct emotion on their face.

Draco looked absolutely relieved that Hermione was finally there to stop her two best friends from crushing him into a thousand pieces.

Harry looked absolutely ecstatic. Here he was, trying to kill the bastard that he thought killed his best friend, and it turned out that she was perfectly fine.

And Ron, as always, looked confused as hell. Hermione was supposed to be dead, yet here she was, standing there as if nothing were wrong.

"Ronald Bilious _(A/N: I have no idea if that's how it's spelled)_Weasley! You let go of him THIS INSTANT!" Hermione shrieked her eyes wide.

Out of habit and shock, Ron's arm released Draco's neck almost instantly, and the blond was sent falling to the floor, gasping desperately for air. Hermione walked to his side and bent down next to him, inspecting him quickly to make sure he was ok.

She then straightened herself up and glared at the other two men in the room,

"Now what the bloody hell do you two think you're doing storming in here and trying to kill him?" Hermione asked, promising herself to keep her cool.

"Well what the bloody hell are you doing alive?" Ron asked. Hermione stared at him in confusion,

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked him, also looking at Harry, since he was obviously part of this little attack.

Harry conjured the Daily Prophet and held the head page out her hand, which she outstretched to grab it, her face furrowed in confusion.

Her face dropped slightly as she observed the page, but when she began to question Draco, it wasn't for the reasons that Harry and Ron had expected.

"Draco why didn't you tell me that there was a _photographer_ there that would put this…repulsive image on the front page?" Hermione asked him, her face scrunching in disgust at the image that continued to replay on the paper.

Draco ran his hand through his hair,

"I, well, I didn't know he was serious about the whole Daily Prophet thing…" he mumbled to her. She rolled her head back and let out a groan.

"I'm never going to be able to go back out there! You said that I would just lay low for awhile, until _he _forgets about it or something, but now everyone in the wizarding world, and most likely the muggle one too, thinks I'm dead" she complained.

"Mya, you were the one that agreed to do this, hell, it was your idea! And _now_ you're starting to think about the consequences about this whole thing?" Draco asked her. It honestly didn't surprise him; this was Granger he was dealing with after all. She would eventually start to figure things out, and become totally distressed.

Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances as the couple bickered in front of them. It almost sounded like this whole Hermione dying thing, was some big plan of theirs.

And worse, she had actually called him Draco, and he had called her Mya. It had taken Ron and Harry years to get permission to give her the nickname 'Mione. Where did a little ferret like him go off getting Mya in just a few weeks?

"Um, question" Harry asked meekly, not wanting either of them to explode on him. Hermione simply sighed,

"What is it Harry?" she asked. He could tell by the exasperation in her voice that this entire situation was aggravating her.

"Um, what the hell is going on?" he asked.

"Well, I guess it's too late to keep it a secret now. We might as well tell someone" Draco sighed, pulling up a chair to sit in while Hermione explained the situation.

--

When she had finished telling Ron and Harry about everything, the two of them just stood there with very puzzled looks on their faces, while Hermione looked at them anxiously.

"I can't believe you did that" Ron said, his face expressionless, but his voice was almost…angry, with a touch of shock.

"I know, I know. It seems terribly out of character for me, but you two haven't been around these past months, it's been absolute hell. Especially with half of the dark side trying to kill me. I couldn't keep going like that" she answered, looking shameful.

"Not you, _him_" Ron said with disgust, glancing over at Draco.

Draco looked absolutely bewildered at this accusation,

"Me? What do you mean me? What have I done but be completely civil towards Miss Granger here, I practically saved her life!" he defended himself.

"Wrong" Harry intervened,

"You ruined it." He spat. Draco's look, if possible, became even more surprised.

"What in god's name are you talking about Potter? If it weren't for me, she'd be being chased by every death eater alive!"

"Are you kidding? This is probably some part of your scheme. There's no way that I'm going to believe that you 'helped her' out of the 'kindness of your heart'" Ron said, spitting the last words as if they tasted bad.

"What…!?" Draco asked, looking nervous again by this sudden attack.

"Exactly, you're probably doing this for Voldemort. It was probably all a way to get Hermione Granger out of the way, or somehow getting her to do things for all of you, like feed you information about our side." Harry added in.

"I can't believe that after all I've done for her, you two have the nerve to accuse me of using her!" Draco snapped angrily, standing up abruptly from his chair.

"Excuse me but…" Hermione tried to cut in calmly.

"If you were actually trying to help her, you would have come up with an idea that didn't end with her being stuck like a prisoner in your house!"

"Would you all please…" 

"Oh please! This wasn't even my idea, it was her idea! She was the one who came up with everything! Slipping Pansy the potion, killing her, disposing of the body! You cannot blame the outcome of this on me!"

"You didn't have to go along with it! You could have come up with something better!"

"Just listen…"

"So you wanted me to totally ignore the actually quite brilliant idea coming from the brightest witch in our year!?"

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!!"

Once again, the three heads in the room shot towards her direction. They had almost forgotten that she was in the room.

"Harry, Ron, listen. You're concern really does mean a lot to me, but, Draco's right. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I have confidence that he did this, not because he wanted to hurt me, but simply because he wanted to help" Hermione told her friends weakly, she didn't want them to get mad at her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to side with Draco"

--

**So! I hope you liked that chapter! I hope to get the next one up sometime during this week! I'm going to try to finish this story before summer, but that's definitely enough time! Review please! -Erin**


	8. I Think I Might Be Falling For You

**Yay! Another chapter! Like I said, I'm hoping to finish this before I leave with my family for our summer trip (June 15) because I most likely won't be able to access the internet to update. So I'm aiming for a few more chapters. I want this to be 10 at the very least :D So keep those reviews coming! It's the weekend so I should be able to update more often.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not going to go through the usual spiel, I think you should get it now that we're on chapter 8. I don't own HP or its characters.**

--

"Harry, Ron, listen. You're concern really does mean a lot to me, but, Draco's right. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I have confidence that he did this, not because he wanted to hurt me, but simply because he wanted to help" Hermione told her friends weakly, she didn't want them to get mad at her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to side with Draco"

She bit her lip softly, this was not going to end well. Hermione glanced over to Draco who she could tell was doing his best to hide an "I told you so" look. She then carefully turned her head towards her two friends, and prepared herself for the explosion.

"You…_what?_" Harry asked, praying that he had misheard her. There was no chance in hell that his best friend would side with the ferret instead of him and Ron, unless there was something seriously wrong with her.

Hermione began to look slightly frantic now,

"I…I said that I'm going to have to side with Draco on this one." She muttered softly.

Ron looked utterly confused and infuriated at the same time.

"Excuse me?" he asked in a tone that reminded Hermione of the days that she and him spent bickering endlessly in the common room until Harry and Ginny would tear them apart and force them to go to bed before they woke up the entire school with their yelling.

"I just…it's just that Draco's right. He can't be blamed for this. And if you're going to blame him for something that was my fault…then I suggest…" she took a deep breath, and gulped slightly.

"I suggest that you leave before you cause a scene" she finished, closing her eyes, not wanting either of the men to see the tears welling up in her eyes.

Hermione could barely understand the words coming out of her mouth. It just sort of happened. Here she was, telling her best friends of so many years to get out, because they were insulting their enemy of all the years they had spent together.

Here she was, Hermione Granger, pride of Gryffindor, defending Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Prince, instead of backing up her two best friends, who had stood by her through everything.

But what they didn't get was that Draco was different, she couldn't put her finger on it, but when she looked at him, she didn't see that evil, blood curdling face that had taunted her for so long. But someone who cared, which she had to admit was an interesting change of pace.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, not believing what she was telling them.

As he looked at her face, and heard the words coming out of her mouth, Harry realized that their time away from her must have been harder than he thought. She had changed, and he wasn't sure how to take that.

Harry glanced at Ron, and nodded.

"'Mione, if that's what you really want" Harry offered sullenly. Ron took her by the shoulders and pulled her slightly away from Draco,

"We're doing this because we love you Hermione, remember that, it's not because we want to. If anything happens, we're only a call away. We'll come back, no matter what" Ron assured her quietly.

He kissed her gently on the top of her head and released her. He and Harry then proceeded to glared at Malfoy venomously. He had done something to her, or he was going to. They just knew it. But they both had it in their better judgment to do as Hermione asked them, or they would get one very unhappy witch.

They shot one last glare at Malfoy before proceeding out of the mansion.

"Am I the only one that has a very bad feeling that we just left our best friend with the ferret" Ron asked glumly as they trudged along to Diagon Alley, which admittedly wasn't that far from the Malfoy home.

"Of course not mate. But what else could we do? Insist on staying until she exploded on is? But it isn't as if we're seriously just leaving her there. Besides, I'm sure that Malfoy's got something up his sleeve. There's no way that someone like him would drop almost 7 years of tormenting to be all buddy-buddy with a muggle born" Harry pointed out.

Ron nodded in agreement. They'd get back at Malfoy somehow, _before_ he got the chance to put Hermione in harm's way.

--

Hermione continued to stare through the door which Harry and Ron had left through, her eyes glazing over in a dazed look. She shook her head softly,

"I cannot believe I just did that" she said, so quietly it was almost inaudible. Draco looked at her cautiously, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Why did you do that?" he asked her. He had hoped that he would correct them, but to go as far as asking them to leave sort of stunned him, especially after he really thought about who he was dealing with.

"I don't know Draco, I just don't know. They were attacking you, and you were right, I felt like I had to defend you" Hermione sighed. She looked up at him and smiled ever so slightly.

"Are you surprised?" she asked him, tilting her head whilst keeping her almost sly smile.

"Surprised that you dumped your best friends for a little ferret like me?" Draco asked her, she nodded.

"Nah" he said shaking his head as he allowed a smile to cross his lips.

Hermione couldn't help herself, he looked so damn cute. She leaned towards him, leaving a few inches between their faces, and Draco almost immediately closed the space, allowing their lips to meet.

Draco pulled away for a moment,

"You know Granger, you're a lot different than I ever thought you were" he thought out loud, as he looked straight into her eyes. As he did this, he realized that this was the first time he had ever actually really looked at her.

It had usually always been simply seeing her, and simply noticing the fact that she was a muggle born. This was the first time that he had looked straight in to her eyes, looked right past the blood, past the person he used to see, and now a saw this person, this stunningly beautiful person, and realized…

"I…I think I might be falling for you"

**Woo! Ok, yay! Reviews would be greatly appreciated! I'll start the next chapter right away! Tomorrow is Memorial Day, so I might be kind of busy, but I'll do my best! –Erin (HalfBloodPrincess221)**


	9. Who's The Bimbo?

**I want to once again give a million thanks to all the people who have been reviewing to this story, especially those who have more than once, it really means a lot to me! Here comes chapter 9!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just the plot and any characters or places you don't recognize from the books!**

-:-:-:-

"I…I think I might be falling for you"

Hermione processed these words for a moment, an uncontrollable happiness overcoming her. She instinctively brought her lips to his again, kissing him with such a passion. Her arms encircled his neck as his tongue slipped into her mouth.

She broke away for just a moment, and heard him whimper slightly. A wild smile crossed her face,

"Draco Malfoy, I think I love you" Hermione whispered, feeling a rush of relief wash over her. She hadn't realized how much she had needed to say that to him, and she hadn't realized how much she needed him to feel the same way.

The two people were in complete bliss, both of them realizing that the most unlikely person, was making them the happiest they had ever been.

"Let's go out" Draco insisted after a few moments of intense making-out. Hermione's brilliant smile faded slightly,

"But what about the fact that I'm supposed to be dead?" she asked him, biting her lip softly.

Draco pondered this for a second, and pulled out his wand. He muttered a few words under his breath as a tingling sensation worked up Hermione's spine.

"What the hell did you just do to me?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Relax" Draco said putting his hands up in mock surrender.

"Just a little spell. To me, you look like yourself, but to any other human…" he moved her towards the mirror that was hanging near by and she gasped as Hermione saw her reflection.

Instead of the usual curly brown hair, it was very long, platinum blonde and her brown eyes were now an icy-cold gray.

"Oh that is so incredibly creepy" she jumped slightly as a smooth, un-Hermione like voice proceeded out of her mouth.

"It's just a little something I picked up in a book I read a few years ago" Draco admitted, obviously quite pleased that he had pulled off the task.

"No, not that. It's just the fact that I look like a female version of you" Hermione said, observing all the aspects of her new face.

Draco's face dropped,

"Thanks" he said sullenly.

Hermione turned away from the mirror and smiled at him,

"That's not what I meant and you know it" she assured him, kissing him lightly.

"Give me a few minutes to change" Hermione said as she went back to the guestroom that she was currently staying in. After a few days with Draco, she had gone home and gathered her belongings, and brought them back here. It was safer, and it was a sure thing that neither of them was complaining.

After a "few minutes" Hermione rejoined Draco in the living area, where he had set himself to lounging on the couch reading some book with a glazed look on his face like he'd been staring at the same page for hours.

Hermione cleared her throat, and Draco nearly jumped, being shaken from his daze.

"Wow…you look amazing!" he gushed, as he looked at her. She was wearing a red dress, her hair pulled up into a slightly messy bun with a few pieces dangling over her face, silver hoops in her ears, and a pair of red strappy heels.

She simply smiled at him.

"I had to find an outfit to fit my multiple personalities" she said raising her eyebrow at him.

"Hey, it was either this, or stay at home until the world forgot about Hermione Granger…which we both know would be longer than either of us could stand"

Hermione smiled and rolled her eyes,

"So where are we going?" she asked him.

"Well I was thinking we'd go to some nice, not-muggle restaurant, perhaps the Norriture Magique?" he said, putting on a weak attempt to not smile.

"But that place is like impossible to get in to!" Hermione squeeled.

"You forgot that you're dealing with a Malfoy" he said slyly.

"Let's just go before I change my mind about this whole identity thing" she told him as she rolled her eyes and they walked towards the door.

-:-:-:-

Harry and Ron had seated themselves at the Leaky Cauldron, sipping down a few butterbeers (the doctors had insisted they stay away from fire whiskey) as they discussed their options.

"I'm not buying his shit for one second, the ferret's up to something, and somehow he's dragged Hermione into it" Harry said darkly.

"Speak of the devil…" Ron muttered quietly as he ducked down slightly, as if he was trying to avoid someone. As soon as Harry realized what his friend was doing, he followed suit.

And sure enough, a man with platinum hair strode by them, with a girl with…equally blonde hair latched on to his arm.

"Who's the bimbo?" Ron muttered quietly as the couple walked into the back room, which would lead them to Hogsmead. **(A/N: I don't think that's quite accurate, but I needed a way for Harry and Ron to spot the new Hermione with Draco)**

Once the two were out of hearing range, Harry and Ron proceeded with their conversation, now positive that there was something fishy going on with the ferret.

"Ok, so 'Hermione' protects Draco from us, her best friends, and he now going out to a very nice dinner, based on their outfits, to a very fancy dinner with some girl that kinda looks like him? That's kind of weird." Ron stated, clearing what both of them were thinking.

"You would think that he'd be taking Hermione out after what she did for him, but he's taking whoever that girl was out" Harry pondered out loud.

"Unless…" Ron began.

"Unless what?"

"Unless the girl that kicked us out, wasn't Hermione. But one of Malfoy's little monsters setting us up, so we'd leave them alone."

**Bum, bum, bum! Ok kind of a dull chapter, but I promise I've got some exciting stuff coming up for the next few chapters! Reviews, reviews, reviews! (Only 11 ½ days of school left!) - Erin**


	10. Unforgivables

**Grrr! I'm doing my best to finish up this story since I've got like 5,000 brilliant Dramione fictions swarming in my head. But I'm going to finish this story, I'm aiming 1 more chapter after this one, and no, they will not be boring, this one will have the big twist in it…YAY! I love plot twists…happy sigh**

**Reviewers, reviewers I love you all so!!**

**Disclaimer: If Harry Potter were mine, I wouldn't be having such a hard time finishing this fic!!**

-:-:-:-

"Unless the girl that kicked us out, wasn't Hermione. But one of Malfoy's little monsters setting us up, so we'd leave them alone."

Harry groaned and rolled his eyes,

"Could you bee any thicker Ron? Trust me, that was definitely Hermione. No actress, no matter how good she was, could fake the kind of emotion I felt coming from her. It was definitely 'Mione" he assured his friend, who leaned his head on the table and emitted a frustrated groan.

"I guess there's always the chance that Hermione actually likes him, and that she actually trusts him, and that there's actually a small chance that he may have somehow changed and is a respectable human being" the raven haired man thought out loud.

"Now who's the thick one?" Ron said rolling his eyes.

-:-:-:-

_(A few hours later, and back at the Malfoy Manor)_

"Draco, can you take this god forsaken spell off of me? I'm sick of looking in every reflective surface and seeing someone who's so…not me" Hermione pleaded.

Draco sighed, she had been nagging him all night, "I suppose so".

A wand movement, a few muttered words, and a tingling sensation later, Hermione glanced back in the mirror and sighed with relief as she saw her usual curly brown hair, and chocolate eyes.

"Thanks" she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

But as she pulled back, he took the back of her neck and pulled her towards him for more, which she was more than willing to oblige to.

The couple kissed deeply, Hermione's arms latched around his neck, as he ran his fingers gently through her hair. Both were deeply immersed in the kiss, unable to notice their surroundings.

That is, until a chillingly cold voice broke them from their daze.

"You little _traitor_!" the last word was spat is if it burned the person's tongue, just saying it. The voice was full of disgust.

Draco and Hermione broke apart instantly, and stared at the people before them.

"Oh. My. God." Hermione whispered very quietly. Before them stood two men. One with long, silver hair, much like Draco's, and the other wore a hood over his face, but his chilling, and snakelike voice suggested who he might be.

"Father, my Lord" Draco offered quietly. He looked as though it pained him to say the words.

"You have betrayed us! And for what? A little wretched _mudblood_?" Lucious Malfoy sneered.

"You were ordered to kill this…thing. And here we find you _kissing _the little animal?" he looked as though he were going to throw up.

"Draco, we placed a very important task upon your shoulders. We thought you had completed it. But because of your…affections, or whatever the hell stopped you from completing it, all three of the only people who stand in our way are alive and walking! I didn't ask you to kill her just for kicks, we need her out of the way if we are to succeed!" Voldemort added in, speaking as though Hermione were not in the room.

Hermione's hand quietly, and unnoticeably reached for Draco's, which gave hers a gentle squeeze before he stood up to face the men before them.

But not being able to find words, he stood there waiting, for the others to speak first, whether it was out of humility or the fact that he was completely frightened, being caught with someone he had supposedly killed, by the two evilest people alive, he wasn't quite sure. But he had a bad feeling that it was a mixture of the two.

Voldemort took a deep breath, as if for some bizarre reason he was trying to stay calm in this situation.

"I'm giving you until the end of the day to kill the girl. If after the sun sets, and for some strange reason, the mudblood is still alive, I will personally punish you by killing her slowly and painfully, before your very eyes. And then, I will kill you." The Dark Lord warned venomously.

And with those disturbing words, Voldemort and Lucious disappeared with a loud crack, leaving Hermione and Draco speechless.

Draco's eyes slowly turned to look at Hermione, slightly afraid of what he would see.

Her skin was unnaturally pale, almost like a ghost. Her face looked blank, and unemotional, as if she was an empty shell. Draco could tell by these simple changes in appearance that she was utterly terrified.

"Mya, it's going to be ok. I promise. I told you that nothing was going to happen to you, and I meant it"

Hermione frantically shook her head while fighting back a bought of tears that she hadn't been expecting.

"No Draco, it's not! Either way I end up dead, either at your hand or his! How is that going to be ok?" she asked him. Her breathing was fast and shallow.

Draco seated himself back on the couch next to her and wrapped his arms comfortingly around her. He placed his chin on top of her head while she leaned her head against his chest, silent tears running down her face.

"I don't see how we're going to be able to get out of this one" she sighed, small sobs and random sniffles interrupting her sentences.

"I mean, this is _the Dark Lord_ we're talking about. They don't call him that because he gets fooled by petty tricks by petty people who think they can pull the petty wool over his petty eyes!" she shrieked, surpassing distressed and going straight to hysterical.

Draco was unsure of how to get her to calm down, so he simply resided to tightening his arms around her small body, and gently stroking her hair.

As her body shook beneath him, Draco realized that he would do anything for this girl. He would give anything to make her tears stop, and to make it so that the world could never hurt her again. He realized that he truly, flat out loved Hermione Granger.

But his thoughts were interrupted by two men storming into the room. Hermione couldn't see who they were, and she instantly tensed, thinking that it was Voldemort and Lucious back to kill either her or Draco…or both.

"'Mione?" a very familiar voice asked her.

Hermione shifted her position so that she could get a look at her two best friends, relieved to have more company. She gave them a meek smile, as tears continued to flood her eyes. She was trying to do her best to cease them, but her efforts were in vain. She simply couldn't get Voldemort's words out of her mind: _I will personally punish __you __by killing __her__, slowly and painfully, before your very eyes. And then, I will kill you._

"What's going on?" Ron asked, slightly uncomfortable at the sight of a weeping Hermione in the arms of Draco Malfoy. A few years earlier, she would have been holding on to him or Harry for comfort.

"It's um…You-Know-Who. You see, he's kind of after us. Well, he's more so after her, but if I don't do as he asks, he'll be after me as well" Draco explained, seeing as Hermione seemed to be incompetent of saying anything without bursting again.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Harry asked, feeling the same way as Ron.

"Unless you can make Voldemort forget about killing the best friend of the boy-who-he's-tried-to-kill-a-million-times-but-has-beat-him-every-time, then I don't think so" Hermione answered meekly with a small, forced laugh.

"I don't know about that, but maybe they can help to get rid of them" Draco offered, slightly releasing Hermione from his grip.

"Them?" Ron asked confused.

"Oh yeah, my father's in on this whole thing as well"

"There's a shocker" Harry muttered under his breath, and Hermione, hearing him, shot him a quick glare.

"When are they coming back?" Ron asked, trying to move this whole thing along.

"Sunset" the girl answered, rubbing the back of her neck.

Harry glanced from his watch to the window, and made a guess of about 2+ hours, seeing as it was roughly 6:00 in the evening.

The four of them stayed in silence, while each individual thought up ideas that would help the couple escape an inevitable death.

"I have an idea, but it's pretty bold…" Hermione offered after a few moments. The men turned to look at her, all eager for any form of plan.

The other three shared looks as she explained.

"What the hell? It's worth a shot" Draco caved with a sigh.

_(Roughly 2 hour laters, as the sun is just about to set)_

"What if this doesn't work?" Hermione whispered to Draco, her eyes fixed between the window, revealing a sinking sun, and the clock which read 25 after 8.

"Then we improvise" he told her, nodding his head.

"And you do know that I will refuse to just sit here and watch you take care of everything, no matter how creepy the situation is. Just because I'm a female, does not mean that I cannot handle this as much as you can" she insisted, making things clear before they arrived.

"Mya, I know ok? If any one person could handle this, it would be you… you did punch your worst enemy, and most popular guy in school when you were only 13" he reminded her with a knowing smile. She smiled back at him, and at that moment was when two furious people entered the room with a _crack_.

Hermione and Draco stood to meet them, each with unwavering confidence in their eyes.

"Draco, you have failed us, for the second time in 2 days, and for the last time. Now, you will pay" Voldemort said, flatly, yet venomously. In one swift movement, he had somehow gotten Hermione in front of him, and his wand at her throat.

"But not before we get rid of this piece of filth" he said, pulling her head back and looking at her with disgust.

"_Crucio_"

Pain shot through Hermione's body like a thousand knives, all stabbing in to her at the same time, causing her to writhe on the floor, biting her tongue, and not allowing herself to scream. She would not give that satisfaction to people as vile as Lucious and Voldemort.

"Are you too stupid to scream girl?" Lucious' voice hissed, "too stupid to call out for help?"

If possible, the pain intensified. At this point, Hermione was numb. The pain had been lasting for seconds, which felt like hours. She felt like her body was being ripped apart, limb by limb. She bit harder into her tongue, a slight taste of blood now in her mouth. This was it, Hermione felt like she was about to die. Hell, she would have taken death over this pain in a heartbeat.

"Scream!" Lucious demanded, Hermione's pain once again increasing, make it utterly unbearable.

She couldn't take it anymore and let out and incredible, ear piercing scream, letting out the decibels.

Draco's face throughout this whole ordeal was absolutely crestfallen. It killed him to see her in so much obvious pain. The worst part of it that it was his very own father, inflicting this incredible pain on her.

The evil duo, feeling satisfied with the mudblood's glass shattering scream, subsided the curse. Hermione lay slumped on the floor, gasping desperately for air. Now to afraid to say or do anything, just incase they decided to reinstate the Cruciatus on her.

At this point, Ron and Harry took it upon themselves to make their appearance, having been watching from around the corner, but having been forced to not take action until they felt it totally necessary.

Draco practically lunged forward at Hermione, as soon as the curse had been lifted, taking her in his arms and pulling her away from their offenders. He laid her on the couch, and proceeded to stand by Harry and Ron.

"What is this? Some kind of rebellion?" Voldemort insisted, almost showing some kind of humor in the fact that he stood before one of his supposed followers, and three of his worst enemies (although one was hardly a threat at the moment)

Wands from every party were drawn, pointing them at the opposite and the words were spoken before anyone of them could think,

"Avada Kedavra!"

Bodies slumped to the floor.

-:-:-:-

**Oooooo! Who could it be!? Anyway, I've got one more chapter to wrap things up! Should be up possibly by the weekend, or maybe early next week. Only 8 ½ more days of school for me!!! Yay! Reviews please! I need that final push :) -Erin**


	11. Show Time

**We're finally here! The last chapter, I feel so proud, this is my first, fairly long fiction that I've finished. I hope that y'all are satisfied with the ending, but if not…well deal with it. Don't flame anything though.**

-:-:-:-

(Roughly 6 months after Voldemort and Lucious intruded)

Hermione sat in front of her vanity, absentmindedly running the brush through her hair over and over again.

The only sounds she could hear were the constant swish of her brush, and the soft babble from the people that she had herded out of room, being queasy enough without the bustling and constant nagging of her family and friends.

At this moment, Hermione was in a daze, and the entire day had felt like a surreal, blurry experience. She had never lived a day such as this one.

_Swish_

_Swish_

_Swish_

A knock interrupted the silence, and Hermione felt her stomach knot tighter than it already was.

A certain red haired girl entered the room, looking slightly frustrated and red in the face.

"Listen, I hate to be so rough, but Hermione Jane Granger you've been sitting in this damn room since the moment you got here! Now I know you're nervous, who the hell wouldn't be? But we've got some work to do, so if you don't cooperate and let everyone in here to help you we'll never get you ready in time!" Ginny Weasley ordered quickly in one breath.

Hermione sighed and cracked a smile.

"Fine. But please, would you all stop being so girly about the whole thing? It gives me the jitters just hearing all of you talk like that about it. My nerves are bad enough without all of you giving me heart attacks"

Ginny nodded in agreement and ushered all of the people who had earlier been forced to leave, back into the room. But not before muttering a quick warning to everyone that the girl was a bit "testy" at the moment, and that it would be best to not start gibbering about the next few hours.

"Don't worry so much 'Mione! Things are going to be fine" Lavender Brown said reassuringly as she entered the room.

Hermione sighed at her friend,

"I know that. It's just, well, this isn't a mistake is it?" she asked, furrowing her brow slightly.

Everyone in the room rolled their eyes. This was not the first time that she doubted her actions. Ever since all of the trouble she had been through a few months ago, she seemed to doubt every decision she made.

"I hope you're joking" Parvati Patil intervened.

"Up until now, this is the only thing you've been able to talk about. I mean, sure, there are quite a few people that aren't happy with everything that's happening, but that's expected. I know that you're doing the right thing, we all do. And I know, that you know, that you both want this" Parvati spoke as Ginny placed her hands on her friend's shoulders reassuringly.

"Don't worry so much 'Mione. This is probably the farthest thing from a mistake. And if Harry and Ron were here, they'd be telling you the exact same thing" Ginny said with a small smile.

Hermione sighed, they were right. She'd spent a lot of her time being worried about this, but her friend's words helped her feel a lot better.

The next hour or so was spent preparing. And as the clock ticked closer and closer to the hour of 3 o'clock, everyone felt their stomachs tightening and the uncontrollable need to talk girly about everything, despite Hermione's strict dislike of it, was satisfied. But in fact, she found herself joining in the "mindless conduct", or at least that's what she chose to call it, seeing as it contained much talking of subjects that only a girl their ages could comprehend as interesting.

"Are you ready?" Lavender asked, giving Hermione a reassuring smile.

"No" she said meekly, gripping her stomach. If she had been nervous a few minutes ago, this was utterly queasy.

Lavender let out an exasperated before she and Ginny wheeled Hermione out of the room, where they met up with a few more people, including Luna Lovegood, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, Tonks, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and a handful of Weasleys.

Now, I know what you're thinking. All of those people, including Ginny Weasley, were supposed to be very much dead. But this was in fact a lie. To everyone's great surprise, the deaths of all of those people had been feigned, while they were taken prisoners to Death Eaters, that way the "survivors" would not come after them. God knows why they hadn't been killed, but Hermione and the others were beyond greatful.

After the happenings at the Malfoy Manner, the fateful events led to the discovery of their friends, and the resurfacing of the Order.

Unfortunately, the story was not the same for Hermione's family. They had indeed been killed, to her great distaste.

But the support and love of all of the returned prisoners helped her greatly through the loss.

And now here they all were, on this significant day.

"How are you holding up?" Tonks asked Hermoine, her hair a light purple color.

"Umm…well I can honestly say I never knew it was this hard" she answered with a light laugh.

"Don't worry so much. Once this whole thing is over, you'll be happier than you've ever been" Lupin advised, walking over to them. Hermione smiled genuinely at both of them, happy to have them back.

She watched as people left the entrance way they were currently standing in to enter the main room of the building, where all of the other people were currently waiting. After a while, the only people left with her were Ginny, Luna, Dean, Seamus, and a slightly annoyed Sirius.

Because of the fact that her father was…unavailable to help her through this, she had asked Sirius, who had been like another dad to her to take his place. Although he could never really replace her dad, Hermione felt that it fit, and he graciously accepted.

"I want to thank you again Hermione, this really is a great honor" Sirius said for the billionth time as he turned towards the nervous girl.

"Really, don't mention it Sirius. I wouldn't want anybody else doing this for me, except of course…" she trailed off, feeling sad just thinking about it.

Sirius pulled her into his arms and gave her a gentle hug.

Luna had opened the doors to the main room and turned back to the group,

"All right everyone, show time" she said in her usual dreamy voice, but with a hint of excitement.

Hermione's four friends paired off and left through the doors to the main room. Hermione then linked arms with Sirius and followed the others.

Just before they walked through, Sirius had to mutter to Hermione to loosen her grip on his arm, since the blood had ceased to circulate for a few moments.

She apologized softly as they continued into the room.

Hermione couldn't help but smile widely at the sight before her as she and Sirius walked towards the head of the room. On either side of them was all of her friends, and others that other people had invited.

When the couple reached their destination, Sirius left with a quick kiss to her forehead to seat himself with the others.

As the event passed, Hermione found herself flooded with emotion. The whole thing was a surreal blur as she looked around her. Smiling as she her eyes rested on Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, her best friends in the entire world. She felt her heart swell at the sight of them, remembering when she had almost lost them.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

_Bodies slumped to the floor._

_Hermione felt her heart stop, staring at the bodies before her. _

_Lucius Malfoy and the Dark Lord himself lay motionless on the ground. Harry and Ron's wands pointed at their mortal enemy, and Draco's pointed at his father._

"_Is it…are they dead?" she asked quietly, mustering the last of her strength._

_Draco jumped, almost forgetting that she was there. He bent down next to her on the couch, brushing a stray piece of hair from her face. _

"_Everything's gonna be alright now Mya. They're gone. No ones after you anymore" he told her quietly. A weight was lifted from both of them._

Hermione was snapped back out of her daze at the words of a certain person before her.

"And do you, Hermoine Jane Granger, take Draco Lucius Malfoy to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the minister asked.

Hermione smiled widely, staring into the icy blue eyes of the one she loved.

"I do" she said, breathing heavily.

And before the minister could barely utter his next words, Hermione and Draco shared the first kiss of their married lives.

The kiss that started the rest of the unbearably happy lives together.

-:-:-:-

**Finally! I hope that you all liked it! I myself am quite proud of it! I will most likely be starting my next fiction as soon as possible, and it will most likely be a Hermione/Malfoy fic…I just can't get enough of them! Reviews would be greatly appreciated! Just because the story's over doesn't mean I don't want to hear what you think! Thanks to everyone who's helped me to finish it! -Erin**


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